Cake, Conversation, and Fainting, Oh My!

Yesterday evening was the Roanoke Area Back to School event, and what an incredible time it was!  We were joined by two prospective families, a very special returning student, CF ’12, and her Mom, FF ’80, and our always wonderful and gracious hostest, LD ’86.  With such an intimate group Mary and I decided just to roll with conversation and questions, which then turned into one of the most comprehensive Sweet Briar Presentations I’ve been to in quite some time.  Funny how that works, huh?  And “ending” that portion of the evening on a Monty Python and the Holy Grail quip wasn’t half bad either

 (Greatest Plague line from a Comedy!)

The conversations that happened over the beautiful cake that Wendy Coffey of Coffey Cakes did for us was amazing as well–CF was telling stories about her experiences now, FF and LD shared about their experiences back in the day, and we heard a little bit from our students about why Sweet Briar is attractive to them, and what they are into and excited about now.  Love, Love, LOVE nights like this one!

But in true GAL fashion, the little black cloud started to rear it’s ugly head.  Towards the end of the conversation and evening my legs started feeling a little funny, and then I started getting a little figety, and then my stomach lurched.  At that point I started to run back through everything I had eaten throughout the day to figure out why I was feeling like this–oatmeal, banana, tea, coffee, cake.  Crap.  As the room then started to spin and start to go black I realized that somewhere in between our staff retreat in the morning and the IT call about iPads and then leaving for Roanoke, I’d somehow had missed lunch and had cake for dinner.  Poor life choice, I know.  Thankfully Mary scooted the families out and FF and LD got me to a chair before I hit the floor, but leave it to me to end things with bang.

As mortifying as this part of the night was, it was an incredible reminder of how much I love Sweet Briar women.  Whether it’s the girls your with throughout your time here, or whether its alumnae opening their homes, or whether it’s the mom of a current student who happens to be an alumna and knows how to help you not pass out and embarrass yourself more, Sweet Briar women take care of one another, and for that I am alway grateful (and in debt!).

Oh Scarecrow….

I just wrote a thank you note to a student, and realized that in a week and a day, she’s going to graduate.  We all know it’s coming, but this is the first time it’s really hit me for this class of 2010.  It’s the first class I worked with throughout their entire experience, and I’m so insanely proud of them.

But it’s always hard to say goodbye….

So two women from MA walk into a Women’s College….

Today is a first, my friends–today, we have our first guest blogger (*ooo, ahhh, wowie!*)!!

LAB ’01 was a senior at Sweet Briar when I was a freshman, so for a brief year our times at Sweet Briar crossed.  I thought, at the time, this was incredibly neat since we both claim our home state to be the fabulous Commonwealth of Massachusetts–when you’re ten hours away from home, finding folks that come from your little corner of the world was, and still is, important and comforting.

Today LAB is running a successful Web 2.0 business in the Boston area, in addition to being a champion of Sweet Briar.  I highly encourage you to check out her business, Task Rabbit, and her blog to she where she’s been, where she’s at, and where she’s going.

But without further ado, LAB’s take on Entrepreneurship and the Liberal Arts

I have been wanting to blog about the awesome and exciting things happening at my alma mater, Sweet Briar College, ever since I made it down for their first annual Conference on Entrepreneurship and the Liberal Arts, back in April.  The conference was organized and run by the students and faculty of the fairly new Business Administration program. Professor Tom Scott, as chair of the department, is explicitly moving the focus of the 6 year old program into the direction of entrepreneurship.  SBC is already known for its strong Liberal Arts programs, and focusing their Business degree on entrepreneurship just makes a whole lot of sense.

At SBC you are expected to be good at many things.  Dance majors are also applied Mathematicians, and Biochemists are also concert pianists.  As an entrepreneur, I’ve learned you also have to be good at a multitude of things.  You can’t just be a programmer ofr a marketer, its good to have an interest and even in excel in many areas.  When I left IBM I was an engineer-a simple role to convey.  Two years later, I would say I’m part engineer, part marketer, part saleswomen, part business strategist, part fundraiser, part communicator, full time janitor, part community advocate….the list just goes on and on.  Here’s the kicker…I love it all (sometimes even the janitor part)!  As I build a team, I look for others that can do it all and enjoy thriving in an environment where there are minimal boundaries and innovation and independence in encouraged.

I believe a strong Liberal Arts education leads to well rounded, smart and savvy, contributors to our world.  A focus on entrepreneurship in this environment is the perfect compliment, and I am thrilled to see the generation of women going through this program come out with the confidence and skills they need to succeed as a leader-perhaps even founding their own business ideas and companies.

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I’d love your feedback, Dear Bleaders!  Do you love/not love the guest blogger concept?  Who would you love to hear from?  Do you have questions for LAB?  Leave a comment!

Alumnae Rock

It’s been a long week.  I feel like I’ve been in New England for longer than just 7 days, but I’m still only halfway through this trip.  This is just an interesting time to be away–my seniors need my attention, last minute files need my attention, my juniors need my attention, all the while if you meet me out here on the road, you need my attention.  It’s a little overwhelming, to say the least.

But what makes it better?  Two things–the students I’m meeting out here, and our wonderful, fabulous Alumnae.

1. My students are the best, plain and simple.  Whether it’s at a meet and greet, over coffee, or at a college fair, you all have awesome questions, great energy, and a real passion for challenging yourself in college.  There are so many future vixens out there, it’s not even funny!!
2. I have to love on our Alumnae–I’ve had three great volunteers to keep me company at the Rhode Island National (DK and MB) and the Boston National (the original MB!), and without their help I couldn’t have spread the good word about SBC to all of you (at one point in RI we had three different families talking about SBC!).  And on Sunday the ever gracious and fabulous True Dow welcomed us into her home and gymnasium (yup, she has a gymnastics studio in one of her barns!), and we were able to celebrate with NE and her mom her fabulous decision to join our wonderful community.  All you students out here energize me, but my fellow alumnae feed my soul while traveling–like visiting family, we just get each other.  I am so grateful for their time, energy and zest for SBC–I couldn’t do this without you!!!

NPR and the Fly Girls

I have really come to enjoy NPR, especially on the drive into work.  In a lot of ways I feel like it’s great mental preparation for being in the office, much like my morning coffee/tea is preparation to interact peacefully with human kind (GAL does run on Dunkin’!).

This morning’s story was particularly good–so good that I have to share with you all!  The story was about the Female WWII Pilots who served as Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP). To quote directly from the article, “They weren’t granted military status until the 1970s. And now, 65 years after their service, they will receive the highest civilian honor given by the U.S. Congress. Last July, President Obama signed a bill awarding the WASP the Congressional Gold Medal. The ceremony will take place on Wednesday on Capitol Hill.”

The story took us back to what it was like to be a WASP back in the 1940s, what happened after the group was disbanded, and how they have come full circle to gain this prestigious Congressional Gold medal.  This group of women, united by the common bond of serving their country, not only remained tight-knit during their time together, but now decades later they still are supporting one another, celebrating their successes, mourning their defeats, and remembering those who went before them and can not be with the group during the awards ceremony tomorrow.

It smacked of two things in my mind–A League of Their Own (one of my all time favorite movies) and Sweet Briar during our reunions.

If you haven’t seenA League of Their Own, do yourself a favor and go out and rent it–it is worth your time, I promise you!

And if you have not had the opportunity to see Sweet Briar women at work during an official reunion, or a get together in their home town, I hope you do soon.  It is just astounding to me that these women rally so passionately around all things Sweet Briar, whether that’s making a donation to our Engineering program, hosting a party in her home for prospective students, or rallying around a classmate or friend in her time of need.  I do realize that I’m a part of that legacy, and as I’ve shared before I’m often taken back at the kindness of my fellow Sweet Briar Women, but the stunning similarity to the WASPs really made me stop and think about how lucky I am, and how lucky we are to have this influence in our lives.

Many of you Accepted Applicants are coming to the time of the year when you’re making your decisions, and I would encourage you to look long and hard at the article about the WASPs, and see the connection you could have at Sweet Briar, and the lifelong connections this experience can create for you.  Looking back on all of it now, I wouldn’t change a thing, and I am certainly ever grateful for my Sweet Briar Family.  I hope we can say you’re a part of this sisterhood, too.

Cement Truck, Part II

Part of the story that gets left out sometimes is the fact that I was meeting two alumnae for lunch the day of the fateful Cement Truck Accident.  Tara is a lovely ’99 alumna who was just as helpful as Ms. Bea was, we just didn’t share the intimate hour and a half car ride back to West Lebanon.

May ’09 was my five-year reunion here at the Briar, and as JGL and I were standing in line to get food, the woman in front of me whipped around and said, “I know you from somewhere….”  Out of the hundreds of people at reunion, Tara (who was celebrating her 10 year reunion) and I  just happened to pick the same food line at the same time.  It was so great to see her again, and introduce JGL to one of the players in that infamous story he’s heard over and over.

Today, with the magic of Facebook, Tara popped up again.  She and her fiancé are one of the five finalists for the Clay Hill Farms Green Wedding Giveaway. I share this not because I’m a sucker for weddings, but for two other purposes:

1. Tara was a studio art major at Sweet Briar, and now is a Photographer in the White Mountain Region.  Her submission for this contest is all her own photography, and it is beautiful!  What an incredible way to take what you love and transform it into what you do in the “real world!”
2. I believe in good juju and karma and what goes around comes around and the “Old Girls Network” here at SBC–help a good Vixen out and VOTE FOR TARA!

I’d rather be…

QV, QV!

I am a proud member of the QVs, one of our tab clubs on campus. And while outside of the Pink Bubble my hat really doesn’t mean a whole lot (unless you’re visiting with wonderful alumnae!), it does mean on campus that current QVs can find a safe haven in my office to share what’s happening and hear old war stories (when you’re a QV, you have to remain a secret during your entire sophomore year).

I was so humbled and honored when I got to know my Great-Great Grandbaby, Amanda W. ’08, who entered in as a freshman the fall I began working here in the office.  She is such a neat young woman in terms of everything she was involved with, in addition to being a caring and loving member of the class of 2008.  She e-mailed me last night to share the research she’s been doing while at grad school, and I am completely blown away (yet again). I really encourage you to check out the article and learn more about what’s she’s up to in terms of her Lupus translational research.

What is the really heart of the matter here, though, isn’t which club you belong to, or what hall you live on, or what you’ll inevitably end up majoring in–it’s about the quality of your character, striving to be the best version of yourself, and making true and honest friends along your journey.

I’m so grateful for my QV family, and my greater SBC family, and for students like Amanda.  What an amazing gift we have here in admissions to see these students come in as girls, and see their transformation into women.

“Some people come into our lives and quickly go.
Some people move our souls to dance. They awaken us to
new understanding with the passing whisper of their wisdom.
Some people make the sky more beautiful to gaze upon.
They stay in our lives for awhile, leave footprints
on our hearts, and we are never ever the same.”
~ Flavia Weedn

Sweet Briar Day, O Sweet Briar Day!

Sweet Briar Day is a tradition that was first instituted by the Alumnae Association in 1922. This day, which is unique among colleges, is set aside each year for extended members of the Sweet Briar family to gather and become acquainted, renew old friendships, and hear the latest news from campus. The occasions can be casual or formal, and the events vary from morning coffees and luncheons, to teas, wine tastings, and cocktail receptions, and can sometimes feature a staff or faculty representative from the College.

Sweet Briar Days are upon us, folks! Whether you live near or far, north or south, east or west, SB Days are an incredible way to reconnect, network, and meet alumnae, current students, and other prospective students.  Next best thing to getting on campus, I think, is to have a face-to-face with our alumnae and students.  They’re amazing women, and have such incredible stories to tell about where they’ve been, where they’re going, and how Sweet Briar has been with them every step of the way.

I’m sadly not going to be joining my fellow Sweet Briar Sisters at the events in my territories (New England, New York, and New Jersey), but I do hope that if you can make it to one, you’ll do it!  It will change your entire perspective, I promise!  Check out this link to see if there’s an event near you.

Tales of Travel Seasons Past, Part I: The Cement Truck

So, that pesky cement truck story I promised you.

It was my second full year, but my first full travel season.  I was into about week four or five when I started doing school visits in NH.  I had scheduled a lunch with a fabulous alum in the area I was in, but had one last school visit before I met them for lunch.

This wonderful gem of a private school in the White Mountains only had about 60 students total in their upper school, and a bulletin board in the main lobby with every student’s picture on it.  I had a student that I knew was attending there, and as I walked down the hallway trying to figure out where she was on the board, I failed to see the short stairwell that I promptly fell down.  Fell down doesn’t quite capture what I did–I imagine it looked like when my old dog, Jackie, used to leap onto the recliner in the living room but then realized, mid-leap, that she was overshooting herself by a good foot and would then start backtracking desperately in mid-air.

“Dear Lord, the rep fell down the stairs!  Call the school nurse!”

“Great,” I thought to myself.  “SB rep falls down stairs, I ripped the knee out of my good pants, and I’m pretty sure my knee is the size of a softball.  Rock on, GAL, rock on.”  The women at the front office were very kind, helped me up, gathered my things that had spread all over the hallway, and brought me a bag of ice for my knee.

Forty minutes and a very awkward conversation with the guidance counselor later, I was parked about a block down from the restaurant I was meeting Ms BT at.  I normally sit in my car when waiting for appointments, but my knee was too swollen and too sore to sit still, so I hobbled inside in my three inch heels and ordered a glass of water and a new back of ice, since the one from the high school had leaked all down what used to be my good pants.  Fifteen minutes later Ms BT arrived, asked what had happened, and after I assured her things were just peachy, we began to talk about SB.

And then we heard it.  That awful sickening sound of tires squealing and the crack of two (or three or four) vehicles colliding.  This doesn’t happen much, apparently, in the town I was in, and everyone but me at Ms BT rushed to the windows to see.  ”That didn’t sound good,” Ms BT shared.  I looked at her square in the eyes and said, “just watch, with the day I’m having it’s probably mine.”

No sooner did the words leak out of my mouth, the store owner ran back in and said, “This Nissan Altima from Virginia just got totalled!”  In the most innocent voice Ms BT could have mustered in that moment she said, “Do you think it might be you?”

No, everyone in this town drives an out of state car filled to the brim with pink and green pamphlets.  I’m sure it’s another person.  But thanks for playing today, friend!

Sure enough, Main Street looked like the cement truck had puked Peto-Bismol all over the road.  The rental car, totalled.  The car of the road tripping college student who had parked in front of me, totalled.  The cement truck, he was ok.  Long story short, he had fallen asleep at the wheel, and my car leaped in front of him just as he awoke.  The best part about the whole situation?  Once the townies figured out that it was MY rental car, they kept coming up and asking if I was ok, and was I hurt too badly during impact.

And as much as I wanted to tell them, “it wasn’t so bad,” I had to admit to 37 people and the entire Bethlehem Police force that I had fallen down a flight stairs up at the high school.  Classy.

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I am a firm believer in that things happen for a reason.  I like to think that I fell down those stairs because had I not, I would have been sitting in my car when the cement truck had hit–I arrived to the appointment 15 minutes early, and Ms BT was 3 minutes early.  Cement truck?  Right on time, when I would have just been getting out of the car.

I also believe I was suppose to have that encounter with Ms BT.  She and I had never met–just spoke on the phone for mere minutes that August.  Yet the nearest rental car facility was an hour and a half away in the same town as my Grandparents, and BT drove me there without a question.  She then immediately turned around so she wouldn’t miss dinner with her husband.

In hindsight it’s an incredibly funny story, partly because it could have ended so badly so I tell it as a very funny story.  But every time I see a stranger in need, I stop and think about what would have happened if BT hadn’t driven me across the state, or if the photography shop owner hadn’t taken the pictures of the wreck for me, or if the fire department hadn’t used the jaws of life to rescue my suitcase so I would have clean underwear for my visits the next day (ok, I threw that one in for fun, but it did take three of them to manually remove said luggage), or if my future husband hadn’t been transferred to the office in Madison Heights that would inevitably handle all of the follow up once I got back to VA (that’s right, I met JGL partly because of this wreck.  Romantic, isn’t it?).

What if I had been sitting in that car–would I even be blogging this funny story to you right now?

Life, and life at SB is about doing and creating and achieving–but I hope we also learn to sit back once and a while and truly appreciate the things that life will undoubtedly hand us.

I know I am….